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The Case for Icebreakers Master thesis in Sustainable Development 283 Examensarbete i Hållbar utveckling The Case For Icebreakers Griffith Couser DEPARTMENT OF EARTH SCIENCES INSTITUTIONEN FÖR Master thesis in Sustainable Development 283 Examensarbete i Hållbar utveckling The Case For Icebreakers Griffith Couser Supervisor: Ashok Swain Evaluator: Eva Friman Copyright © Griffith Couser and the Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University Published at Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University (www.geo.uu.se), Uppsala, 2016 Content: 1 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………1 1.1 Structure ………………………………………………………………………………………2 2 Background & Theory …..…...……………………………………………………………..…4 2.1 Theory ………………………………………………………………………………………...4 2.1.1 Problem-Solving Capacity ………………………………………………………………….4 2.1.2 Environmental Security …………………………………………………………………….6 2.1.3 Food Security ……………………………………………………………………………….9 2.2 Geography …………………………...………………………………………………………12 2.2.1 Sea Ice ……………………………………………………………………………………..12 2.2.2 Shipping …………………………………………………………………………………...13 2.3 Icebreakers …………………………………………………………………………………..15 2.4 The Arctic Council …………………………………………………………………………..16 2.4.1 The United States Chairmanship Agenda ……………………………………………........17 2.5 National Interest …………………………………………………………………………..…18 2.5.1 The United States ……………………………………………………………………….…18 2.5.2 The Russian Federation ……………………………………………………………………19 2.5.3 Asia ………………………………………………………………………………………..20 2.5.4 Canada ……………………………………………………………………………………..20 2.6 Alaska ……………………………………………………………………………………….21 2.7 Indigenous …………………………………………………………………………………...23 2.8 The United States Coast Guard ……………………………………………………………...23 3 Methods………………………………………………………………………………….…….28 3.1 Secondary Research …………………………………………………………………………28 3.2 Primary Research ……………………………………………………………………………29 i 4 Analysis & Discussion……………………………………………………………………...…30 4.1 Indigenous ………………………………………………………………………...…………31 4.2 Oil ………………………………………………………………………………………...…34 4.3 Domestic Policy and Development ……………………………………………………….…36 4.4 The USCG and Icebreakers …………………………………………………………………37 4.5 Shipping …………………………………………………………………………………..…40 4.6 International Cooperation …………………………………………………………………...41 4.7 International Law ……………………………………………………………………………43 4.8 The United States Arctic Council Chairmanship ……………………………………………44 4.9 Analysis………………………………………………………………………...…………….46 4.9.1 Local……………………………………………………………………………………….46 4.9.2 National………………………………………………………………….…………………46 4.9.3 International………………………………………………………………..………………47 5 Conclusion & Recommendations ……………..…………………………………………….49 6 Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………………..51 7 References …………………………………………………………………………………….52 8 Appendices………………………………………………….……………………….………...59 ii List of Figures Figure 1 – Table Detailing the Structure of Institutional Problem-Solving Theory…...………… 5 Figure 2 – Chart Detailing Environmental Security Theory………………………………...…… 8 Figure 3 – Map of the Arctic Region………………………...…………………………………. 11 Figure 4 – Map of Arctic Alaska….……………………………………………………………. 23 Figure 5 – USCG Acquisitions Budget and Projections FY 2013-2016….……………………. 28 Figure 6 – Delimitations of Sovereignty Determined by UNCLOS……………………………. 43 Figure 7 – USCG Cutters Polar Star, Polar Sea, and Healy ……………………...………….… 59 Figure 8 – Comparison of the Polar Star and the 50 Years of Victory…………………….…… 59 Figure 9 – USCG Appropriations Budget FY2015 Breakdown………………………………... 60 Figure 10 – The Donut Hole …………………………………………………………………… 61 Figure 11 – Search and Rescue Treaty Delimitations …………………………………………. 62 Figure 12 – Major Icebreakers of the World ……………………………...…………………… 63 iii Glossary AAPC – Alaskan Arctic Policy Commission AC – Arctic Council AES – Arctic Encounter Symposium ANWR – Alaska National Wildlife Refuge ARC – Arctic Research Commission BOEM – Bureau of Ocean Energy Management DHS – United States Department of Homeland Security EEZ – Exclusive Economic Zone FY – Fiscal Year ISA – International Seabed Authority ICC – Inuit Circumpolar Council IES – Institute for Environmental Security NSAR – United States National Strategy for the Arctic Region NWP – Northwest Passage USA – United States of America USCG – United States Coast Guard UNCLOS – United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea VDC – Valdai Discussion Club iv The Case For Icebreakers GRIFFITH COUSER Couser, G., 2015. The Case For Icebreakers. Masters Thesis in Sustainable Development at Uppsala University, No.XX, XXpp, 30ECTS/hp. Abstract: This thesis assesses the potential success of the United States’ newly assumed role as chairman of the Arctic Council in light of its own record of development in Alaska, its only Arctic territory. Using primary and secondary qualitative research, perspectives from multiple stakeholders are analyzed to assess the United States’ current capabilities in the Arctic versus its rhetoric and responsibilities. To gauge this more effectively, the theory of problem-solving capacity is used to analyze the United States’ potential capacity in the Arctic Council, while the theory of environmental security is used to analyze the United States’ level of investment and commitment to Alaska. With development in Alaska minimal at best and local communities at risk from environmental impacts, the ideal tool for addressing these deficiencies is identified to be icebreakers operated by the United States Coast Guard. Impediments to acquiring sufficient icebreaking capacity are explored, with the conclusion that if the United States is to take effective action on the Arctic stage, investment in icebreakers and therefore the environment and inhabitants of the Arctic is necessary. Not doing so reveals the USA’s agenda to be empty rhetoric and consequently this lost opportunity for leadership may lead to catastrophic results for the region. Keywords: Sustainable Development, Arctic Council, Alaska, Icebreakers, Environmental Security, Inuit Griffith Couser, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, SE- 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden v The Case For Icebreakers GRIFFITH COUSER Couser, G., 2015. The Case For Icebreakers. Masters Thesis in Sustainable Development at Uppsala University, No.XX, XXpp, 30ECTS/hp. Popular Summary: The Arctic Council is the premier intergovernmental forum on Arctic affairs, and the United States has recently assumed chairmanship of the organization, putting forth an ambitious agenda based on cooperation, stewardship, community and commercial development, and climate change impact research. At the same time, the state of development in Alaska, the USA’s only Arctic territory, is dismal. Coastal infrastructure is lacking, as is community development, and the USA’s entire capacity to operate in the area is hampered by a small and aging icebreaker fleet. The question posed by this thesis is whether the USA can assume an effective leadership role while its own Arctic territory suffers from so much neglect. This thesis uses the theory of institutional problem-solving capacity to analyze the USA’s leadership potential in the AC, and the theory of environmental security to effectively gauge the level of development in Alaska. It uses primary and secondary sources to assess the priorities of various stakeholders in the Alaskan Arctic, and arrives at the conclusion that to truly take responsibility and lead in the region at large, the United States must begin by investing seriously in its icebreaker program, which is the single most powerful tool for enhancing its presence, development and environmental security in the area. Without doing so, the USA’s Arctic agenda is empty rhetoric, a lost opportunity, and a potential disaster for the region. Keywords: Sustainable Development, Arctic Council, Alaska, Icebreakers, Environmental Security, Inuit Griffith Couser, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, SE- 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden vi 1. Introduction “The decisions that we make today and in the next two years, the actions that we come together to take, will determine the future of this region for generations to come. So we have to be ambitious, we have to honor the responsibility that each of our nations has for the Arctic, we have to make sure the opportunities that we explore help to preserve the sustainability and the vitality of this region and by extension the rest of the world. And we all know the clock is ticking and we actually don’t have a lot of time to waste.” – Secretary of State John Kerry, Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting, Iqaluit, April 28, 2015. That the Arctic is melting is a foregone conclusion. Sea ice levels reached their lowest point on record in March 2015, following the last decade’s trend of steady decline. This melting is instigating an environmental state change in the region for which neither the inhabitants nor the nations that administer the area are completely prepared. As the environment shifts radically with the loss of both sea ice and permafrost, the effects will be difficult to deal with for those who have adapted to the ice and need it for their livelihood – whether this be the subsistence hunters among the Inuit, or the bearded seals which use the ice for resting and giving birth. However, it is important not to label this melting as strictly negative. The melting of the ice opens the region to a host of newcomers. Southern species of fish are moving further north to feed and, following them, commercial fishermen are finding a bounty in the previously hostile and dangerous waters. So, too, are energy companies and, as businesses from the south move northwards,
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